The present invention relates generally to medical electrodes. In particular the present invention relates to medical electrodes for automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
Automated external defibrillators (AED) are used by first responders such as police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to resuscitate cardiac arrest patients. Studies have shown that the chances of successfully resuscitating the patient decreases approximately ten percent per minute following cardiac arrest. For this reason, an operator must be able to quickly perform the steps necessary to apply electrodes to patient and deliver a rescue shock. Additionally, it is critical that the AEDs carried by the rescuers be fully operational at all times.
To insure AED readiness, the latest AEDs, such as those available from SurVivaLink Corporation of Minneapolis, Minn., have the ability to perform self-tests on a daily and weekly basis, as well as just prior to and just after, a rescue attempt with the AED. One AED self-test system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,571, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. One of the key components of the AED is the pair of electrodes that are placed on the patient to apply the defibrillation shock. Accordingly, the self-test insures, among other things, that: (1) the electrodes are properly connected to the AED; (2) a conductive adhesive on the electrodes has not dried out; and (3) the AED is properly charged and capable of applying a shock through the electrodes. In order for the self-test feature to function properly, the packaging in which the electrodes are stored must provide a conductive path from one electrode to another electrode, and the electrodes must be testable without being removed from their sealed package. Maintaining electrodes in an operable state (through the aid of sealed packaging) for long periods of time is necessary due to the long shelf-storage expectancy of an AED prior to its use in an emergency.
Another goal of the rescue community is AED use with minimal training, and with little or no time wasted in applying the AED despite the lack of training. Typical rescuers who use the AEDs do not have extensive medical backgrounds. For this reason, the electronic packaging ideally will provide timely instructions to the rescuer. The electrodes must be easy to use and virtually foolproof in application. For example, the electrodes must also be easily removed from their sealed packaging for application to the patient. Moreover, once the sealed packaging is opened, the conductive self-adhesive portion of the electrodes must be protected from contaminants and against inadvertent adherence to objects other than the patient.
Finally, the placement of AEDs in the hands of First Responders such as police, nurses, school officials, etc. is highly dependent on reducing the cost of obtaining and using an AED. Accordingly, minimizing the cost of components, such as electrodes and their packaging is important.